Tours: Girl Talk, Delta Spirit, Tokyo Police Club & The Sword

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For many bands the winter season signifies an opportunity to get off the road, return to their families and catch up on their DVR -- but for the road warriors it is chance to get in front of depraved crowds during a time of year that has less competition on a nightly basis.

It is with that sentiment that we’re happy to report an abundance of exciting and diverse artists hitting the road in the coming months. The largest announcement – both in popularity and sheer size of the tour – comes courtesy of the biggest thing to come out of Pittsburgh since Franco Harris. Greg Gillis, the mash up maniac behind the traveling party known as Girl Talk, sets out on a massive North American tour a few days after he blows the roof off The Rave in Milwaukee, WI on New Year’s Eve. The tour pulls into the nearby Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on February 2, and then Gillis takes a few weeks off before returning to Terminal 5 in NYC on February 24. Gillis spent the summer working on his latest album, a follow up to the critic’s darling, Feed the Animals, but is now itching to bring his dance party back to the masses. Ready your glow sticks, movement clothes and party pills – Girl Talk be visiting a city near you soon.

The next band to brave the winter weather is the Long Beach, CA boys known as Delta Spirit who scheduled a tour on top of the release of The Waits Room EP that will be available on iTunes beginning November 16. This will be the band’s second tour promoting their 2010 release History From Below (Rounder) and the month long tour that starts in Lawrence, KS on November 15 cruises through New York’s Webster Hall on November 23 before concluding in San Diego in mid-December. Supporting their entire stretch of dates is a pair fellow Los Angeles bands; psych rockers Darker My Love and atmospheric folk outfit The Fling.

January will see two of indie rocks most promising young imports combine forces when Canada’s Tokyo Police Club and North Ireland’sTwo Door Cinema Club embark on a 13 city tour with a stop at NYC’s Terminal 5. Both bands have enjoyed considerable success in 2010 with new releases and sold out tours across the country. Tokyo Police Club dropped their second LP Champ (Mom + Pop) in June while Two Door Cinema Club’s debut Tourist History (Glassnote) was released in late April. The tour is a co-bill, but Tokyo Police Club will close the run of dates so be sure to get there early to see Two Door Cinema Club and get your concert dollars worth.

On a final note, The Sword has rescheduled their previously reported postponed run of dates including a show at Webster Hall on December 4. The band recruited their friend and Austin music veteran Kevin Fender to play drums in the wake of their split with original drummer Trivett Wingo.

For complete tour listings simply click the artist link for each band.